Vacuum cleaner head attachment



March 13, 1956 E. E. ROBISON 2,737,680

VACUUM CLEANER HEAD ATTACHMENT Filed Sept. 8. 1952 Fig,

Edwin E. Rob/son INVEN TOR.

United States Pa 2 CLEANER HEAD ATTAGHM-ENT Edwin E. Robison, San Francisco, Calif; Application September 8, 1952', Serial Nou308,'47 8 2 Claims, (Cl. 15-446 This invention: relates. in general to: amattachmenttfor proved suction head; attachment. in the. form -:of. an: guardl fonFcleaning-urugs and the like, said guardtbeingrsso con structed anddcsigned whereby thessamewmaysbetquickly and; easilyattached to and removed; fromzassnction head'..

Another object of; this. invention is: to; provide an int-'1 proved :guardrfor' suction heads of; vacuum :claners ;v said guard being of a relatively simple constructiorrand forrned of inexpensive materials whereby the same is economically feasible.-

A further object of this invention: is: to provide an improved guard for attachment to a suctionthead of a. vacuum cleaner over the inlet opening thereof; said guard being adapted" to engage a surface being cleaned andfhavingupwardly turned edge portionswherehy, move.- ment: over the surface being cleaned'is facilitated? With;these objects definitely in view this invention resides in certain novel features of construction combination: and arrangement of elements, and portions. as will be herei'nafter described'in detail in the specification, particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a material part of this application, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a suction head for tank type vacuum cleaners and shows the guard, which is the subject of this invention, mounted thereon;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the suction head of Figure 1 and shows the general relationship of the guard with respect to the same;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the suction head of Figure 1 and shows the general outline of the guard and the manner in which it is attached to the suction head;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the guard per se and shows the manner in which it is constructed;

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the guard of Figure 4 and shows the general configuration of the edge portions thereof; and

Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of a suction head for a tank type vacuum cleaner, said suction head having formed integral therewith a modified form of guard conforming to the spirit of this invention.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the ditferent views of the drawmgs.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that there is illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 a suction head for a tank type vacuum cleaner, said suction head said; guard beingsri'ntended; for: usm-inrthez string or; otherrsimilar type: to preventtthe,

2,737,680 Bit-tented Mar. 1.3, 195d being referred-- to in general bythe' reference numeral} 10. The-suction head 10 is-in the formof a concave housing whichis generally'" elliptical in outline and which liassan: enlarged inlet opening 12in the lowerend'there of? Secured to-thetop 0f the suction head 'is a fitting 14 for: attachment to a flexible-vacuum cleaner hoseor the like.

Inxorder that material may beprevented from being sucked up into-the inlet'opening I2, there is provided a detachable-guard; whiehr isthe subject of this invention,

the' guard being refe'rred to in general by'the'reference numeral="1'62' Referring now-toFigure 4 in particular, it will be seen that th e guard lfiincludsaoneepieceguard member 18 which is formed ot-"wire and bent to have a sinusoidal configurationr The -guard member 18 includes a plurality offi'ngers 20 which are disposed at:slight angles totheir adjacent connectingaportionsllf It will be-noted that the guard member 18 also includes end fingers 24"wliich;aresub'- stant-ially one lialf the length' of the other fingers 2,0, and which terminatei'n inward-Iy directed end portions 26; The end portionsr26 are secured to adjacent fingers 18-a-gainst which they-abut;

In order to faeilitatee tfie-atta'climentof the guard member l8 ttr -a suction head; suchas, the suction head 10,

and 'also to reinforce the guard member, the guard.16 longitudinall'y extending: stiffening, The stilfening; members; 28 and t 30-' overliethea fingers -20 and 24 adjacent the ends thereofa ndarerigidly-securedthereto; Ynasmuclhas theendfihgersrZii terminatejsubstantially at th'ezcenter li'ne'of the guard memb'er 18; the stifiening,

member 28; which overlies=th end fingers 24, is longer than the stilfeningmemberSO; However, inasmuch as it is intended that the'stifiening members128 and 30 em gage:- sideiedges offthe suction h'ead 10; or a' similar' suc= tion-rheaii. the two stilfening members have-the same general curvaturmandrare imspaced relation;

It. will: best noted s that: theermid-point of the stilfning membenzssiszformedfiwith an integrahupwardly projecting loop and: than the member 30: is: providedwith a pair of such loops equally spaced from the center of the same, the pair of loops being referred to by the reference numeral 34.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 3 in particular, it will be seen that when it is desired to position the guard 16 on the bottom of the suction head 10 over the inlet opening 12, the guard 16 is moved into engagement with the bottom of the suction head 10 with the stiffening members 28 and 30 engaging opposite sides thereof. When so engaged on the suction head 10, the guard 16 is prevented from moving either longitudinally or transversely of the suction head. In order that the guard 16 may be prevented from dropping olf of the suction head 10, there is provided securing means in the form of a pair of tension springs 36 which overlie the top of the suction head 10 on opposite sides of the fitting 14 and which have one end connected to the loop 32. The other end of each of the tension springs 36 is connected to one of the loops 34.

It will be noted that the guard member 18 has the fingers thereof disposed below the suction head 10 and the same are intended to glidingly engage a surface, such as a rug, that is to be cleaned. In order that the movement of the guard member cleaned may be facilitated, the end portions of the fingers 20 and 24, including the connecting portions 22 are curved upwardly, as is best illustrated in Figures 3 and 5. However, it will be noted that the intermediate portions of the fingers 20 and 24 are flat and lie in a comfingers -and connectedthereto:by arcuate' 18 over the surface to be a mon plane so as to permit flush engagement with a surface being cleaned.

Referring now to Figure 6 in particular, it will be seen that there is illustrated a modified form of guard which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 40. The guard 40 is intended for use with a suction head for a tanktype vacuum cleaner, said suction head being referred to in general by the reference numeral 42. The suction head 42 is substantially identical to the suction head 10 and includes an inlet opening 44 on the bottom thereof and an outlet fitting 46 carried at the top thereof. The guard 40 also has a sinusoidal outline and is formed of a single piece of material. However, the guard 40 differs from the guard 16 in that it is a one-piece member and is secured directly to the portion of the suction head surrounding the inlet opening 14 and is not removable therefrom.

While the guards16 and 40 have been illustrated and described as being associated with suction heads of tanktype vacuum cleaners, it will be understood that the invention is not intended to be so limited. If desired, the guards 16 and 40, with a slight change in outline, may be secured to inlet openings of suction heads of upright type vacuum cleaners.

A suction head, when provided with either the guard 16 or the guard 40, may be utilized for the quick and eflicient cleaning of rugs and like surfaces. During the cleaning operation, the guards hold the material down while the vacuum removes the dirt particles from the base and the top of the rug. The upwardly curved edges of the guards allow the guards to pass over the material without catching in the loops thereof. While the guards will hold the material down, will also cause the loops of material to be flutfed up by allowing the loops to be pulled up between the fingers of the guards giving the rug the appearance and quality of being renewed. This is also achieved by the alternate passing of the loops of the rug through the spaces between the fingers of the guards which gives a combing action to the material of the rug.

The operation of this device will be understood from the foregoing description of the details thereof, taken in connection with the above recited objects and drawings. Further description would appear to be unnecessary.

Minor modifications of the device, varying in minor details from the embodiment of the device illustrated and described here, may be resorted to without departure from 4 the spirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new 1. A guard for a vacuum cleaner suction head comprising a guard member sinusoidal in plan and having a generally rectangular outline and adapted to be detachably secured across an inlet opening of a vacuum cleaner suction head, said guard member including a plurality of fingers connected together by spaced arcuate connecting portions, transversely spaced longitudinally extending stifiening members disposed generally normal to said fingers and secured at spaced intervals to said guard member and reinforcing the same, securing means connected to said stilfening members for overlying a vacuum cleaner suction head and clampingly retaining said guard member in position, said stiffening members being spaced and configurated for engaging side edges of a suction head.

2. A guard for a vacuum cleaner suction head comprising a guard member sinusoidal in plan and having a generally rectangular outline and adapted to be detachably secured across an inlet opening of a vacuum cleaner suction head, said guard member including a plurality of fingers connected together by spaced arcuate connecting portions, transversely spaced longitudinally extending stiffening members disposed generally normal to said fingers and secured at spaced intervals to said guard member and reinforcing the same, securing means connected to said stiffening members for overlying a vacuum cleaner suction head and clampingly retaining said guard member in position, said stiffening members having ofiset intermediate portions receiving said securing means, said stiffening members being spaced and configurated for engaging side edges of a suction head.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,036,978 Drum Aug. 27, 1912 1,138,437 Baender May 4, 1915 1,508,597 Clements Sept. 16, 1924 1,667,082 Robinson Apr. 24, 1928 1,994,616 Leitzell Mar. 19, 1935 2,239,762 Taylor Apr. 29, 1941 2,392,645 Clobridge Jan. 8, 1946 2,607,069 Hahn Aug. 19, 1952 

